Charles Marie Widor

Artist:

Charles Marie Widor

Born:

February 21, 1844 , Lyon

Died:

March 12, 1937, Paris

Summary:

Charles-Marie Jean Albert Widor was a French organist, composer and teacher. Widor is best remembered today for the Toccata from his Symphony for Organ No. 5, which is often played as a recessional at wedding ceremonies.

Charles Marie Widor Biography

1844- 1937 Charles-Marie Widor was born in Lyon. His father, the organist of St. François, Lyon, was his first teacher. Later he studied with Jacques Lemmens in Brussels. As a boy, Widor was a skilled improviser. By 1860, at age 16, he replaced his father as the organist at St François, and in 1869 became the organist at St. Sulpice in Paris, where he remained until 1934. In 1890 Widor succeeded Franck as organ professor at the Paris Conservatoire. Among his pupils was the famed Albert Schweitzer. Widor's best known organ piece is the Toccata, which is often played at weddings. Many of his pieces employ the French toccata style, which features fast sixteenth note figurations over solo pedal. Typical of Widor is bravura piano technique in the organ medium. Widor only included religious themes in his final 2 symphonies, the Symphonie Gothique (op. 70) and the Symphonie Romaine (op. 73). He wrote 10 symphonies in total.